Improvement in wood-turning lathes



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AM. PHUTO-LlTHO. C0. N-Y. (OBEURNE'S PROCESS.)

R. W. GEORGE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT ION WOOD-TURNING LATHES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 49.516, dated August 2'2, 1865.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, R. W. GEORGE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful VAutomatic Lathe; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompany'- ing drawings, forming a part of this specilication, in whicht Figure lis a top view. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is an lend view of the lathehead; and Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same in the line m of Fig. l, and Figs. 5 and 6 are different views of the yielding clamps.

Like parts are indicated by the same letters in all the drawings.

The nature of my invention consists, first, in giving a rotating motion to the rounded stock as it is passed through the rotating lathehead V V, by means of adjustable yielding clamps or springs t', arranged at suitable points around the bore or axis of said lathe-head, which clamps shall bear sufficiently hard upon the stock to keep it revolving against the cutter or cutters i and j, but not so hard as topreventiti'rom beingforcedlongitudinallythrough the head by means of the feeding-slide E or its equivalent; second, in combining the lathehead, constructed as described, with an automatic intermittent or reciprocating feeding apy paratus and pattern, Z, and a sliding cutter, fi, guided by said pattern, for the purposeV of cutting swells, tapers, and curves on the stock as it passes through the lathe-head; third, in the employment ot' a vibrating plate, A', provided with an adjustable knife, or a series of knives, j, to be brought at the proper time against the revolving stock by means of a cam, l, or its equivalent, for the y purpose of automatically cutting beads or creases, and also` partially or nearly severing the stock afterA the turning has been completed and the 1on-Y gitudinally-progressive (but notthe rotary) mov tion of the same has ceased; fourth, in arranging a hollow auger or round-ing apparatus, Q;

in a line with the lathe-head V V, constructed as described, so that the roundedstock may be forced directly through from the rst-mentioned apparatus to the second, automatically or otherwise, thus avoiding the necessity` of handling over the stock in converting it from the square strips into the turned and finished articles, such as stair-balusters and handles Ifor hoes, brooms, rakes, &c.

To enable others skilled in the art to `make and use my improvement@ will now proceed Ito describe the construction and operation of the same. i A A are the two sides of a wooden frame of any required length, and B C are the ends of the same, the whole being supported at a convenient height on legs. v v

` D is the box or hopper, arranged at the back end of the frame, as represented in Figs. 1, and

2,for the reception of the square strips of `stock to be rounded and turned. The sides of this .box are cnt away at the bottom, as seen in Fig. 2, forming a slot in which `reciprocates the end of the feed-plate E,`which is a fiattened continuation or armof the rod F, the ,latter sliding freely in the guide-bearings n y, and kept from turning by means of the arm w,con ned thereto, and extending downward, so as to play in a slot in thecleat a' at the bottom of the frame A, as represented inFig.` 1. y A reciprocating motion is communicated to the bar F and its appendages byV means of the rod G, arm w, and the other connected with the crank H by means of the pivot b, the said crank bcing slotted so that the pivot b maybe adj usted any required distance from the axis I, forthe ,purpose of giving more or less `motion to the lcutter, d., turnsi'n suitable boxes, f j', attached to cross-beams ce, being actuated by means of a belt-passing 'from the pulley R over `another pulley sented in Fig. 2. Throught-he hollowlanger Q the rounded stockis `forced b etwellk 91.19 grooved rollers S S, whose axles U are or may be so arranged as to spring apart to accommodate stock ot' different diameters. The design of these rollers is to prevent the stock from rotating in the hollow auger after it (the square one end of which is pivoted'ata to the on the driving-shaft below, as reprei stock) has passed out-of the square hole in the stud I), and also to guide the same into the hollow rotating lathe-head. When the distance between the hollow auger and the lathehead, however, is considerable, as in a machine calculated for turning rake-handles, &c., I propose to make use of a tube or` rings in the intermediate space to operate as a guide to the? stock.

V V are the lathe-heads, whose axis turnsy in suitable bearings, h h, in the cross-beams g g, as shown in Figs. l andr2. Over the pulleyy V is passed a drivin g-belt from a suitable pulley below, as represented in Fig. 2. Through the axis ofV V' is a hole, h', (see Figs. 3 and 4,) through which the rounded stock is passed, t t t being metallic blocks (the shape ot' which is clearly shown in Figs. 4, 5,and 6) arranged in corresponding holes in the headsl VaudI V', around the said axial hole h', and projecting into the same, as represented in Figs. 3 and 4. These blocks are forced inward with the requisite pressure by means of the rubber or other springs r r r and the adjustable screw-plugs a a n. By the friction of these blocks t t t upon the rounded stock itis clamped sufficiently tight to be rota-ted against the outside cutters, ij, while at the same time it is driven longitudinally through the lathe heads by means of the feed-plate E, or (in case the latter is removed) by any other obvious means, as by l feed rolls, or in some cases by hand. The screw -plugs a in the head V over which the Ybelt is passed are intended always to be below the peripheryot' the same. In the head V, however, they may extend beyond the periphery, if desirable. In the drawings these heads Vaud V are represented as made in two partsan external pipe and a central core-to facilitate the cutting of the slots for the reception o't' the blocks or clamps t t t. It is obvious, however, that they might be constructed ot' a sin gle piece.

Z is the pattern or guide, the inner edge of. which has the same contour as an elevation outline of the article, a fac-simile of which is to be turned by the machine. This pattern is confined by screws to the upper ends of the arms Vno w, whose lower ends are fast to the rod F, as

represented in Figs. l and 2.

W is av sliding rod one end of which bears against the pattern Z, being guided by the fixed rest m, the opposite end being supported and forced toward the said pattern by means of a spring. (Represented by dotted lines in Fig. l.) Fast to the top of this slide W is a slotted plate, X, to which is confined, by means of a screw, the adjustable cutter t'. More than one cutter t' may however be used, if required. Thus it will be seen that the distance of the knife or knives/i from the'axis of the rounded stock to be turned will be regulated by the pattern Z,

and as the feedplate E and the said pattern are a xture on the same sliding rod F the stock will be cut (as it is forced through the `lathe-head) the exact shape of the pattern.

crease the same at certain points, or nearly i sever one portion from another, and this object I accomplish in the following manner:

A is a plate one end of which is fast to the rod B., the extremities of which turn in suitable bearingsin thearmsG'C', attached totheframe, as represented in Fig. 1. The free end of this plate A is provided with a slot, 7c, and to it may be attached and properly adjusted, byA

means of screws, one or more cutters of'auy desired form for beading or creasing. When the cutter or cutters t' are operating on the stock which is being passed through the lathe-head the free end ot' the plate A', with its cuttersj, rests upon the bar W below the stock; but at'- ter the knife i has shaped the stock, and as the feeder E and pattern Z are receding, and the progressive motion of the stock has stopped, the free end of the plate A is elevated, by means ota cam, l, on the shaft I, so as to bring. the cutter or cutters] up against the said stock, thereby beading or creasing the same, or, ifdesirable, partially, nearly, or entirely severing it.

By means of myimprovements swells, tapers, curves, and beads or creases on turned work can be made with the greatest accuracy and dispatch.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The yielding friction clamps or springs, arranged around the bore or axis ofthe lathehead for the `purpose of rotating the rounded kstock as it is forced through the head against the cutter or cutters, substantially as described.

2. The intermittent or reciprocating feedplate E and pattern Z, in combination with the sliding cutter or cutters t' and lathe-head V V', constructed and operating substantially as described.

3. The hinged plate A', provided with one or more adjustable cutters, j, in combination with the cam Z, intermittent or reciprocating feedplate E, and lathe-head V V', substantially as set forth, and for the purpose described.

4. The combination and arrau gement of the hopper D, hollow auger Q, lathe-head V V', and self-adj ustin g cutters z' and j, substantially as set forth, and for the purpose described.

R. W. GEORGE. Witnesses:

N. AMES, I W. A. AsHE. 

